Like many artists, Kurt Bownell has to balance the commercial with the personal.

The Victor resident is a commercial photographer with a Rochester studio and a client list that includes such corporations as Wegmans, Constellation Brands, Democrat and Chronicle, Unity Health and several universities. The clients commission Brownell for everything from beauty shots of growers, produce and culinary arts to corporate executives in their workplace environments.

His day job keeps him so busy that his personal photographic love – outdoor landscapes – often happens on the fly, such as when he snapped shots of the rolling hills of Cohocton on a pit stop as his family returned from a vacation.

Cohocton Cloud Shadows, courtesy Kurt Brownell

Perhaps that’s why Brownell’s new exhibit at Keuka College, “Up Close and Far Away-Landscapes,” is such a treat for him. The exhibit runs through Jan. 4, with an artist reception Thursday, Nov. 29 from 4:30 – 6 p.m. at Lightner Gallery inside Lightner Library. The exhibit is open to the public; library hours vary and can be found online at: http://lightner.keuka.edu.

Ford Street Sunset, courtesy Kurt Brownell

“This is what I like to do when I’m not being told what to photograph,” he said. “This is what I gravitate toward naturally. I can go without any agenda and shoot what I feel, what I like, what I find.”

Many of his images, which he refers to as “interpretive landscapes,” are “stitched” composites of 10-20 different shots, melded together to create one final, full panorama for the viewer.

Newcomb spent almost two months creating this mural. (Portrait by Brett Williams)

When viewing the pen-and-ink mural that Melissa Newcomb created of the Rochester city skyline and the arched bridge spanning the Genesee River, you might need to take a few steps back.

That’s because the canvas is approximately 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide, perhaps a salute to the visual dominance the bridge itself maintains against the city’s skyscrapers and corporate construction. But the work also invites one to step closer to examine the intricacy of the lines, columns, window panes, and step back again to take it all in.

The piece captures a view of the city skyline as seen from a spot southwest of the Frederick Douglass – Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge (formerly the Troup-Howell bridge), along the Genesee. It is already getting attention from clients who visit the offices of Marathon Engineering at 39 Cascade Drive, said John Stapleton, business manager.

“We had a back wall that was pretty bare and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have something to put up?’” he said.(more…)

Where can a Keuka degree take you? This is the fifth in a series of snapshot profiles on members of Keuka’s Class of 2012.

Scott Welch of Palmyra

Scott Welch ’12 graduated magna cum laude with a degree in biochemistry and has been accepted to the doctoral program at St. John Fisher College Wegmans School of Pharmacy.

“The plan is to graduate in four years with my Doctor of Pharmacy,” Welch said.

On a personal level, Welch said he enjoyed Keuka’s beautiful location and the ability to play lacrosse, in part because of the smaller size of the school. Keuka’s men’s lacrosse team went 11-4 this year in Division III play, capturing its second-straight NEAC (North Eastern Athletic Conference) post-season championship. Welch competed all four years with the team as a defender. He was named the Keuka College Senior Male Student-Athlete of the Year (2012) in May for academic achievement, community service, athletic dedication and sportsmanship.

He said he built many friendships with fellow students while attending and also enjoyed the community they formed.

Ultimately, however, “the thing that I valued most at Keuka was the professors and their willingness to go out of their way to help students,” he said.

Now, a dozen members of Keuka’s SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) team are ready-and-available to assist local Chamber of Commerce members from Rochester to Ithaca better market their businesses with Google Places.

A web tool from the online search-engine giant, Google Places merges the basics of Google Maps and the phone book with a simple business listing. But everything from hours of operation, photos, videos, payment options, customer reviews and more can be added to the basic listing to create a web search tool powerful enough to tempt say, a thirsty traveler with a GPS-enabled smartphone, anxious to satisfy a caffeine craving at the nearest coffee shop.

That’s how it works for Dan Stephens, sophomore English education major from Montour Falls.

“Anytime I go someplace I’m not familiar with, such as when I go to the Adirondacks in the summer, or go out to eat or go shopping, [I] go on Google [with my phone] and type in ‘local pizza parlors,’ and find 10 different [listings.]” (more…)

While she hasn’t yet completed her bachelor’s degree in social work from Keuka College, Canandaigua resident Melanie Nwaobia is already practicing the skills that will come into play for a career serving others.

Nwaobia on the job at Canandaigua Elementary, with student Noah Haus.

Over the last three years, she has worked as a one-to-one teacher’s aide with Noah Haus, who is now a fourth-grade student at Canandaigua Elementary School. While Noah’s autism means that his verbal skills are limited, he is “an incredibly smart young man” who works hard and excels with hands-on tasks, Nwaobia said. Using calendars and schedules with visual cues and icons, as well as technology tools like an iPad with apps he can manipulate and receive electronic “applause” for completing, Nwaobia assists Noah as he works through classroom lessons.

In December, Noah’s parents nominated Nwaobia for the Golden Apple Award from WROC- TV (Channel 8), the CBS affiliate in Rochester. A TV crew then came to the classroom to surprise her with the honor and to film Nwaobia and Noah going about the routines of his school day. (Click HERE to see the TV footage.)

In a letter to the station, Noah’s parents wrote how each day, Nwaobia sends home a full note detailing their son’s entire day, since he does not have the typical language and social skills to tell them himself. She sends text messages and photos too, so that they can celebrate the little successes Noah has each day.(more…)